The 3 most exciting road bikes: Custom road bikes from the Bespoked trade fair

Cyclists who are simply looking for a piece of sports kit pop into their nearest bike shop and choose a road bike based on the best discount. Enthusiasts, however, who are looking for a unique bike to last a lifetime and don’t want to settle for off-the-peg models, make the pilgrimage to Bespoked. Every year in Dresden, 150 exhibitors showcase unusual bikes with hand-built frames: a colourful celebration for all passionate individualists. Amidst all this hustle and bustle, it fell to test and technical editor Jan Timmermann to select three road bikes that really stood out. The trade fair organisers promptly appointed him as a member of the jury – no easy task. In the end, the tech enthusiast from the BIKE and TOUR team was able to settle on three exceptional road bikes.

Conclusion

It is a great honour to be able to select the top three most exciting road bikes at one of the most important trade fairs for hand-built bicycle frames. Forma combines CNC milling technology and carbon bonding to perfection. At Vapour, futuristic frames without a seat tube are created right in the living room. Avalanche takes the crown with a bespoke, one-off titanium frame. - Jan Timmermann, BIKE & TOUR editor

1. Avalanche

The stunning titanium bikes from Avalanche come straight from the heart of Paris. Every bike is a one-off, tailor-made specifically for the rider. The award for the best road bike at the show went to an unnamed endurance bike belonging to a customer from Lebanon. The choice came as a surprise to the French frame builders, as unlike many other road bikes at Bespoked, this bike is designed not for maximum speed but for maximum endurance. A specially designed parallelogram fork made from thin titanium tubes is intended to enhance long-distance comfort and incorporates a small front rack. The 3D-printed frame components require a great deal of manual finishing work.

The lighting system is powered by a hub dynamo. The rear light is even integrated into the titanium dropout. The in-house-designed stem, seatpost and aero extensions are also made of titanium. Without accessories, the bike is said to weigh around nine kilos. As a bit of motivation, the customer had a map full of contour lines conjured up on the frame. A well-deserved first place for ‘Best Road Bike in the Show’! For anyone who’s now desperate to own an Avalanche bike, frame sets in titanium start at 4,500 euros and complete bikes at 7,500 euros.

2. Vapour

Vapour already turned heads last year with an unconventional aero road bike. Their latest creation is called the Phantom. There’s one thing missing from this striking design by the Berlin-based one-man operation: the seat tube. Its aerodynamic drag was analysed using specially developed simulation programmes, and the tube was ultimately eliminated. High-volume profiles are designed to provide the necessary stiffness without any additional bracing. Nevertheless, the lay-up has been chosen to ensure that the vertical flex offers a high level of riding comfort.

The bike is being built in a “Secret Lab”, which is actually the inventor’s living room. He set up the machine for weaving the carbon fibres himself in his flat – next to his home 3D printer. For two weeks, the machines ran alongside the sofa until the new aero frame was complete. The design: exceptionally aerodynamic, futuristic and raw. The show bike is a one-off, non-commercial model intended for Berlin city races, such as the Velocity Race.

3. Forma

Forma Bikes undertook the long journey to Bespoked from Canada to showcase carbon bikes hand-built to perfection. The colourful anodised CNC-machined parts, which act as connectors to the woven carbon tubes, immediately catch the eye. To prevent galvanic corrosion, the carbon and aluminium do not come into contact with one another. Instead, a special foil – just half as thick as a sheet of paper – is incorporated into the tubes at the joints.

The bonded seam is also just twice as thick. Forma uses a special epoxy resin for this, which is not used anywhere else in the cycling industry and to which extremely adhesive nanoparticles have been added. All stages of production take place in-house. The customer-specific lay-up determines where the frame should have flex and to what extent. The carbon is cured at a pressure of 400 psi – higher than that used by most other manufacturers – and is designed to ensure an exceptionally stable surface that requires no paint finish. Naturally, this level of perfection comes at a price. Frame sets start at around 6,700 euros.

What do you think: did we make the right choice? What do you think is the highlight of the Bespoked show when it comes to road bikes? Let us know in the comments!